Pickup trucks comprise a cab and a bed. The bed may comprise raised sides with an open top. It is known to provide tool boxes for use in a bed of a pickup truck.
Many tool boxes for use in the bed of a pickup truck require the user to bend down to reach down in the tool box to retrieve items from the tool box. While the storage of tools within the tool box in the bed of a pickup truck may be convenient for transport, tools may not be conveniently located for easy removal from or storage within the tool box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,969 (the '969 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,177 (the '177 patent) disclose a tool box for locating over a wheel well of a truck bed. A jack is provided to move the tool box between a raised and a lowered position. However, the devices of the '969 patent and the '177 patent do not provide a housing that protects the jack from the environment and from materials that may be loaded into the bed of the truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,479 (the '479 patent) discloses a tool box that extends across the bed of a truck. A jack is provided to move the tool box from a lowered position to a raised position. However, the device of the '479 patent does not provide a housing that protects the jack components from the environment and from materials that may be loaded into the bed of the truck. Further, the device of the '479 patent provides long tubes for housing a portion of the lift mechanism and the tubes interrupt long vertical spaces of the container.
U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2011/0284602 (the '602 publication) discloses a tool box for a bed of a truck. Jacks raise and lower the tool box. However, the device of the '602 publication does not provide a housing that protects the jack components from the environment and from materials that may be loaded into the bed of the truck.
The devices of U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,636,182 and 6,929,303 do not provide a housing that protects the jack components from the environment and from materials that may be loaded into the bed of the truck.
U.S. Patent App. Pub. 2010/0051662 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,624 disclose truck tool boxes having a raisable portion. However, the raisable portions do not raise completely out of the tool box nor do they raise in a level manner. Each of these devices comprise a tilting lift mechanism, which has the disadvantage of causing the contents to slide to the back of the raisable portion away from the user. This makes it hard to maintain organization within the raisable portion and more difficult for the user to reach the desired items in the raisable portion.
The present inventor recognized the need for an improved lifting container for a vehicle. The present inventor recognized the need for a lifting container that allows the user to deposit and remove items from a position more convenient for the user. The present inventor recognized the need for a lifting container that provides a housing for the lift mechanism to protect the mechanism from the environment and contents that may be loaded into the bed of the truck. The present inventor recognized the need for a lifting container that lifts vertically from an exterior housing so that the contents in the lifting container are not shuffled by tilting.